Appellation of origin

An appellation of origin is the name of a country, region or locality used to designate a product originating there whose quality or characteristics are due to the geographical environment, including natural and human factors. This definition appears in Article L. 115-1 of the French Consumer Code. It is the most demanding of the origin signs, since every stage of production must take place within the delimited geographical area.

AOC and PDO

The AOC is the French national regime, recognised by decree after examination by the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualite (INAO). It mainly concerns wines, cheeses and other agricultural products. The PDO (protected designation of origin) is the EU regime, which ensures uniform protection in all Member States. For agricultural products and foodstuffs, national recognition is a step towards European registration. International protection is provided by the Lisbon Agreement and its Geneva Act, administered by WIPO.

Protection

The sign is protected against any commercial use for comparable products or use exploiting its reputation, against misappropriation, imitation and evocation, even where the true origin is indicated or the name is accompanied by terms such as « style » or « imitation », and against any practice liable to mislead the consumer. The name can never become generic. Registration of a trade mark that undermines an appellation of origin is refused or cancelled. The applicable texts appear in the French Rural Code, Consumer Code and Intellectual Property Code.

Key points

In practice, appellations of origin are defended by the management bodies, by the INAO and by producers, before the civil and criminal courts. Disputes often concern evocation by trade marks, domain names or product presentations. They combine with actions for unfair competition and parasitism, and differ from the geographical indication, whose link to the terroir is more flexible. The firm advises and litigates on these questions as part of its intellectual property practice.